Changing body composition

rainbowbow

Does anyone have any tips on changing body composition? ( other than thermogenic fat burners. :P )

I am trying to build muscle and lose fat but it seems like it's taking forever and I'm not sure I'm giving/doing what my body needs to make that change. Is strength training combined with cardio the only way to burn that extra adipose?

Much Appreciated!

tigerblue

Waiting for the answer, too!!

Sidesteal

Lift heavy
Consume adequate macronutrients
Decide whether or not you want to gain muscle or lose fat, and structure your caloric intake accordingly.

smcassaro

bump

rainbowbow

I have gone from 31 to 27% body fat in 3 months... Is that a normal rate?

crazycat80

Maybe this link will help??

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kelly3.htm

kneeki

To change your body composition, you need to gain lean mass. So, eat a caloric surplus, lift heavy, lift often, and do quality cardio (20 minutes incline treadmill at 3.0 speed or higher). Thermals help with this, as they will increase the amount of calories you will burn at rest, but gaining lean mass will help the most.

Sidesteal

To change your body composition, you need to gain lean mass. So, eat a caloric surplus, lift heavy, lift often, and do quality cardio (20 minutes incline treadmill at 3.0 speed or higher). Thermals help with this, as they will increase the amount of calories you will burn at rest, but gaining lean mass will help the most.

Not saying the above is bad advice, but you can change your body composition by losing fat and retaining lean mass. Ergo it's not necessarily correct to suggest bulking, at least w/o knowing OP's current physique/goals.

ArroganceInStep

What are you doing currently?

trelm249

Yes. That is a good rate.

I will also give a shout out on the:

Lift heavy
Consume adequate macronutrients (protein 30% to 40%, carbs, fats)
Decide whether or not you want to gain muscle or lose fat, and structure your caloric intake accordingly.

rainbowbow

Lift heavy
Consume adequate macronutrients
Decide whether or not you want to gain muscle or lose fat, and structure your caloric intake accordingly.

Lift heavy, check.
Trying to consume adequate macronutrients (except for the fact it's hard for me to digest protien)
I want to gain muscle AND burn fat? Not possible? I figured with gaining muscle the fat loss would be a by-product of that? I've upped my calories from 1200 and I eat close to my BMR.

Amidoiniitrite?

liftingbro

There are two different ways to go at this:

#1- Recomp, which is basically eating at maintenance and lifting heavy. This takes a very long time and can be much more difficult You will build lean mass, but slowly and over time (many months) you can total recomp.

#2- Cut/Bulk cycling. You cut down to a desired BF%, for men that's probably less than 14%, ideally close to 10%. Then you eat about 20-30% in surplus for a couple of months maybe 3 while continuing to lift heavy. Then you cut back down to reveal the new muscle. The advantage here is that you will build muscle faster on 20-30% surplus. The downside, you will likely add fat with it and need to cut the fat after the bulking cycle.

rainbowbow

To change your body composition, you need to gain lean mass. So, eat a caloric surplus, lift heavy, lift often, and do quality cardio (20 minutes incline treadmill at 3.0 speed or higher). Thermals help with this, as they will increase the amount of calories you will burn at rest, but gaining lean mass will help the most.

Not saying the above is bad advice, but you can change your body composition by losing fat and retaining lean mass. Ergo it's not necessarily correct to suggest bulking, at least w/o knowing OP's current physique/goals.

Yes yes yes, I don't want to necessarily BULK up. I want to be (uh oh don't use this word) "toned". I'd like to get down to about 16% body fat and gain MAX 5 pounds of lean muscle.

Ultimate ultimate goal? Zuzana from bodyrock.tv. Or, id me okay with my six pack gymnast body I used to have.

kneeki

Yes, it's certainly possible to gain muscle while losing body fat. You may want to eat a bit more than your BMR if your trying to gain lean mass though. Eat a deficit or equal to your BMR, and you will likely slow or stop progress.

Sidesteal

Lift heavy, check.
Trying to consume adequate macronutrients (except for the fact it's hard for me to digest protien)
I want to gain muscle AND burn fat? Not possible? I figured with gaining muscle the fat loss would be a by-product of that? I've upped my calories from 1200 and I eat close to my BMR.

Amidoiniitrite?

The simple answer is "not likely" or " not a significant amount and not over the course of time". Saying it is virtually impossible is not accurate, but strategically it's foolish to attempt and it won't likely yield the results you want (there are exceptions to this, people returning after a layoff, obese people who haven't lifted before). Lyle McDonald has some good info on this at bodyrecomposition.com but suffice it to say, choosing to cut or bulk will be a substantially better choice under most circumstances.

As far as doing it right, I would choose whether you would prefer to lean out a bit more (reduce body fat further) or focus on getting bigger/stronger with the understanding that you may put on just a few lbs of fat, which you will cut later.

rainbowbow

Yes, it's certainly possible to gain muscle while losing body fat. You may want to eat a bit more than your BMR if your trying to gain lean mass though. Eat a deficit or equal to your BMR, and you will likely slow or stop progress.

That would explain why it seems ive made no progress in 6-7 weeks. >_<

Sidesteal

That would explain why it seems ive made no progress in 6-7 weeks. >_<

Are you eating at maintenance?

rainbowbow

I'll definitely check that out. Thanks! I guess I should focus on reducing body fat further before trying to bulk and cut.

Lift heavy, check.
Trying to consume adequate macronutrients (except for the fact it's hard for me to digest protien)
I want to gain muscle AND burn fat? Not possible? I figured with gaining muscle the fat loss would be a by-product of that? I've upped my calories from 1200 and I eat close to my BMR.

Amidoiniitrite?

The simple answer is "not likely" or " not a significant amount and not over the course of time". Saying it is virtually impossible is not accurate, but strategically it's foolish to attempt and it won't likely yield the results you want (there are exceptions to this, people returning after a layoff, obese people who haven't lifted before). Lyle McDonald has some good info on this at bodyrecomposition.com but suffice it to say, choosing to cut or bulk will be a substantially better choice under most circumstances.

As far as doing it right, I would choose whether you would prefer to lean out a bit more (reduce body fat further) or focus on getting bigger/stronger with the understanding that you may put on just a few lbs of fat, which you will cut later.

Sidesteal

I'll definitely check that out. Thanks! I guess I should focus on reducing body fat further before trying to bulk and cut.

You are by definition, cutting, if you have the above goal. Just mentioning this for terminology sake.
Training stays the same, keep lifting heavy, just eat at a slight deficit and monitor progress.

rainbowbow

That would explain why it seems ive made no progress in 6-7 weeks. >_<

Are you eating at maintenance?

I'm eating at lose 1/2 pound per week. >_<

Oh god now I'm confused if I should be lowering my caloric intake and focusing on losing WEIGHT of if I should be focused o losing fat or building muscle @_@

rainbowbow

I'll definitely check that out. Thanks! I guess I should focus on reducing body fat further before trying to bulk and cut.

You are by definition, cutting, if you have the above goal. Just mentioning this for terminology sake.
Training stays the same, keep lifting heavy, just eat at a slight deficit and monitor progress.

Thank you thank you!

joejccva71

I was going to respond but Sidesteal and Mcrow got it covered.

OP listen to those guys. They know their stuff.

Sidesteal

I'm eating at lose 1/2 pound per week. >_<

^ Keep doing this and lifting heavy. Re-assess things in 6-8 weeks, IMO of course.

rainbowbow

I'm eating at lose 1/2 pound per week. >_<

^ Keep doing this and lifting heavy. Re-assess things in 6-8 weeks, IMO of course.

Thank you all very much! That's exactly what I'll do! I appreciate everyone's advice!



Can't wait till I'm shredded and posting success pics

Rae6503

To change your body composition, you need to gain lean mass. So, eat a caloric surplus, lift heavy, lift often, and do quality cardio (20 minutes incline treadmill at 3.0 speed or higher). Thermals help with this, as they will increase the amount of calories you will burn at rest, but gaining lean mass will help the most.

Not saying the above is bad advice, but you can change your body composition by losing fat and retaining lean mass. Ergo it's not necessarily correct to suggest bulking, at least w/o knowing OP's current physique/goals.

Yes yes yes, I don't want to necessarily BULK up. I want to be (uh oh don't use this word) "toned". I'd like to get down to about 16% body fat and gain MAX 5 pounds of lean muscle.

Ultimate ultimate goal? Zuzana from bodyrock.tv. Or, id me okay with my six pack gymnast body I used to have.

Let me add that gaining 5 pounds of muscle would be REALLY hard for a woman. I've been told to expect 2-3 in 6 months and that's with heavy lifting and eating ABOVE maintenance, as in trying to "bulk". I've also been told to expect to gain 0.3lbs of fat per pound of muscle. So that's 1 pound of fat, a total gain of 4lbs. Not bad. My plan is to focus on muscle growth over the winter then cut fat again for summer hopefully actually getting all the way to goal this time.. Sweaters are very forgiving....

havalinaaa

Just putting this in my topics for future reference